Is Originality Needed?

Happy Monday! So, I was having some difficulty deciding what to write about today and realized that I don't necessarily have to dig for some inspirational topic or words. It can just be thoughts or something that I thought was interesting. So, going along with this theme, I wanted to discuss my Restoration English class. (Restoration just means we're reading texts from 1660-1800).

Right now we're reading Jonathan Swift...quite the character.  He is quite humorous, but most of his works should probably be read at least twice. In a lot of his writings, he is discussing the differences between ancient and modern (his time) writers.  In reality, it is a question we still deal with today.  Who are the most important authors we need to read? Homer? Descartes? Shakespeare? Aquinas? O'Connor? etc.



My teacher ended up digressing and talking about current writers compared to the Restoration / Romantic / Elizabethean writers. (Almost a modern past versus present writers version of what Swift did) Before, stories were retold over and over, trying to write the best version of a story.  The point was not: can you come up with something that has never been said before? Can you come up with a plot / character / setting never dreamed up before? Rather it was about who was the best storyteller.

Before, I was adamant about the answer to originality questions being YES! Because if the answer was no, then that would mean all stories that ever could or would come into existence had already been thought by someone else...and I thought that was kind of depressing.  The more I think about it though, the more I have come to realize that when you're sitting with a group of people, you can't always tell a story as well as someone else can.  There are just some really good storytellers out there, and it doesn't matter if you've heard the story before because hearing them tell the story not only entertains you, but can provoke you to think about important things in life.

I learned in one of my classes last year that there are seven basic plot lines, and I couldn't find my book or source. So after looking online, it looks like Christopher Booker was (at least) one of the critics who made this statement.  He says the seven plot lines are: 1. Overcoming the Monster, 2. Rags to Riches, 3. The Quest, 4. Voyage and Return, 5. Rebirth, 6. Comedy and 7. Tragedy. This New York Times article gives a brief description of what he is talking about. 

Really though, what stories can't be grouped into these seven categories?  The critic I had learned about also broke each of those seven down into smaller categories.  It's interesting to approach reading and writing this way. Some of the best stories have been written, so what if we take these stories and tell it in a different way? Or take a character from another story and put them into a different one? Maybe this would be a good exercise for aspiring writers like myself.  Instead of trying to come up with fresh ideas, take an old one and perfect your craft.  Pick something you want to focus on: setting, dialogue, point of view, character development, and let your version focus on that. 

It might be a fun writing exercise or just something to notice when you're reading. Either way, those are my thoughts for this week!  See you next Monday!